An online discussion on 22nd March, from 6 – 7.30pm
Join us for an online collaboration between the Freud Museum and Milton’s Cottage, in which psychoanalyst and writer Adam Phillips interviews Professor Joe Moshenska about the unexpected connections between Milton and Freud.
In 1907, when the publisher Hugo Heller asked Sigmund Freud to list “ten good books”, Freud noted in his reply that he had not been asked “for my favourite books, among which I would not have forgotten Milton’s Paradise Lost.” What do we make of Freud’s affinity for this great 17th century poem and its author?
Joe Moshenska, Professor of English at the University of Oxford and author of Making Darkness Light: The Lives and Times of John Milton, and Adam Phillips, psychoanalyst and author of Becoming Freud, will discuss the resonances between these figures from a number of perspectives: the moments in Freud’s writings where Milton’s name appears, and how these speak to Freud’s anglophilia and ambivalent relationship with his own Jewishness; the history of psychoanalytic interpretations of Milton’s personality and his writings; and the way in which the works of both men seem to veer between an aspiration to total certainty and a relentless insistence that no knowing is ever final.
All registrants will receive their webinar link to join this event via Zoom. All attendees will also receive access to the recording, available to watch back for 1 month. So even if you can’t join us live online on Wednesday 22nd March, from 6pm, you’ll still be able to enjoy the discussion.
Pricing for this event is on a pay-what-you-can basis. All proceeds will be split evenly between Milton’s Cottage and the Freud Museum, two historic houses which receive no regular government funding. We endeavour to make our events available to all, but hope you can support our two independent museums as generously as possible. For those who can afford it, our suggested donation is £10 – £25.
Booking is via the Freud Museum website: https://www.freud.org.uk/events/category/events/ and for further information please don’t hesitate to contact Milton’s Cottage on businessdirector@miltonscottage.org or 01494 872313.